These fashion designers are reinventing the Riviera

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Studio Clandestin, created in Peymeinade in 2017 by the thirty-year-old Jonathan Canuti, the child of horticulturists from Vallauris who became responsible for commercial strategy for a major ready-to-wear brand, immediately refuses fast-fashion, being one of the most polluting industries in the world. He focuses on upcycling, inspired by Lavoisier's mantra, “Nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed”. He recovers new pieces destined for destruction and surrounds himself with fairy hands from the region to transform them into creations: Elise Peleïa Botta, a seamstress trained at Givenchy, Laurène Jeannette, a ceramic artist from Vallauris, Caroline Simon, an embroiderer from Nice, but also Camille, Ludivine and Sasha. Together, they are reinventing an elegant, feminine and masculine wardrobe, around unstructured basics and tailoring style. ”My collections are declarations of love to those who have artistically enhanced the Côte d'Azur, far from stereotypes. My first fashion show took place at MAMAC, the Museum of Modern Art in Nice. It paid tribute to the contemporary movement of the École de Nice and to artistic crafts. For example, I had created a complete outfit in Vallauris porcelain whose pieces were cut by hand in a cookie cutter. The second fashion show celebrated Yves Klein's work on women's bodies. The following were dedicated to my family of horticulturists, and to all those who work to magnify the living heritage of the South. Over time, I was able to create collections that were more and more technical and creative. I had access to dead-stocks of noble fabrics such as rolls of silk fabric from the LVMH group with which I had a great time creating art dresses that were wildly successful! Today, I am just making a living from my business - we sell between forty and a hundred pieces per month - and I am proving that you can succeed in fashion, far from Paris, but I am very surrounded. For fashion shows, I do not employ models, but around fifty volunteer friends, my clandestine family, who believe in my committed project. I also dedicate to them all the flocked pieces from “L'Amour, l'Amour, L'Amour”, a reference to the sound of Mouloudji, produced for each collection. I was also fortunate to be supported from the start by Galeries Lafayette in Nice and Paris, which allocated me sales spaces, by the eco-responsible platform Reiner, and to have integrated mentoring in Jakarta, which allows me to regularly go to Indonesia to exchange know-how. ”What's next?” The next ready-to-wear show will celebrate the joy of celebrating our fifth anniversary, while the next will be couture, dedicated to my city, Vallauris, and to the inspiring Jean Cocteau and Jean Marais, iconic artists of the Riviera.”

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This breath of fresh cultural and authentic air brought to fashion in the south of France is valued, for the luckiest, by the Maison Mode Méditerranée endowment fund which, thanks to prestigious partners such as Chanel, LVMH, Fragonard or Gas Bijoux, supports fashion, cultural and scientific projects led by designers from the Mediterranean basin. Since the foundation of this association in 1988 by Maryline Bellieud Vigouroux, around 700 designers have been financially supported by Maison Mode Méditerranée, thanks to grants obtained for example by the excellent Amaury Darras, an art cabinetmaker at the service of fashion, or Emma Bruschi, creator of delicate straw jewelry, but also thanks to the Open My Med award, won in 2016 by the current president of the fund, Jina Luciani, for his brand, Occidente. Jina, born in Beirut but raised in Nice, cut her teeth in lingerie and homewear between Paris and New York, working for Victoria's Secret or Marks & Spencer. In 2006, she created Occidente, two years after her resettlement in the south. In her workshop in the Haut-Pays Grasse, in Peymeinade, she imagines and makes on site (or in Marseille for major productions), with her 11 collaborators, lines of soft lingerie, yogawear and organic homewear, pure for the skin. ”I am inspired by the vegetation that surrounds me, the Riviera lifestyle and the Western woman who aspires to well-being, the art of living, and balance with nature. Creating Occidente was a real challenge, because in 2006 no one believed in the development of organic textiles. Finding organic cotton in Europe took me time, but in light of the current plea for the preservation of the environment, I am very proud to have believed in it.” Among those who bet on Jina's label, Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche in Paris, which dedicated an exceptional pop-up to her. Since then, she has been appointed to the rank of Master Craftsman of Art in 2022, the highest distinction in the field of crafts. A few weeks ago, her immersive show-show, “The Golden Number”, in collaboration with the art, design and culture collective Fair, which she co-created with the visual artist Stéphanie Hamel-Grain, took place in the remains of the Roman baths of the Archaeological Museum of Nice. A divine and timeless moment.

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Among the strong personalities of fashion made in Riviera who use endemic materials, a duo of friends stands out with their clothing and accessories brand for women, Dédés, created in 2020, an ode to the paradoxes of the Mediterranean. Angélique, strategic director, and Jean, artistic director, both 32 years old, wanted to claim a slow fashion label that transformed the cliché of the cheeky hood. ”Our brand must make this paradigm human and beautiful. We want to assume the insolence and the hustle and bustle of the Coast, but also the rusticity of the hinterland, while representing current society.” Jean creates the design, the production and researches the raw materials in a short circuit. It is obtained from Laine Rebelle, which sorts wool in several maralpine sheep farms, by yarn, knitting, but also from a merino wool producer in Arles. He also selects French linen, organic cotton, Lyocell, recycled plastics and recently, upcycling from fashion houses. Aline, a costume designer and model maker, takes care of the cut and sewn, while Camille, a knitter, works the finest pieces. ”Our models are on pre-order to avoid overconsumption.” Among the brand's best-sellers, which has already released a dozen micro-collections, are the asymmetric and split Boo dress, which evokes a broken heart that is resilient, and the Ren top, inspired by the movie “La Belle Verte” in tribute to neo-ruralism and the return to basics. The cotton used to produce it is extremely fine and knitted on a vintage machine, to give it a rustic appearance revealing the skin. The Link top, 100% linen, inspired by mesh ribs that look soft, light and comfortable, evokes self-defense armor for women, symbolizing the fight against violence against them. Today, Dédès is sold online on their website and the independent sales sites Lunch Concept and Apocene, but is not yet making a profit, even if it is maintained. The duo is looking for partners, and a place in Nice, where they could set up their workshop and showroom. Jean's latest inspirations include silk Georgette knitwear pieces, a dead-stock jersey pierced with cherry-shaped Murano glass beads, and he's in the process of creating a surreal ornamental resin jewel, revisiting the iconic fabric of Indian women in Marseille. “Oh fan! ”

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Photo cover: © Cynthia Mai, designer Emma Bruschi